Month: March 2014

In today’s viral video-happy, talk-show world, they just don’t make ’em unscripted like they used to. There’s no Bette Midler serenading Johnny Carson, no Drew Barrymore flashing David Letterman, no John and Yoko babbling to Mike Douglas about free love. And, 20 years after she dropped 14 F-bombs in the span of one episode, even Madonna’s talk-show behavior is a shell of its former wildness.

On March 31, 1994, Madonna made history — again. Her appearance on “The Late Show with David Letterman,” in which she wore a floor-length black frock with combat boots and smoked a cigar with aplomb, became the most censored episode in American talk-show history. It also provided the host his highest ratings since his August 1993 premiere week. Many were outraged, and they were certain to let the FCC know as much.

Entertainment Weekly critic Ken Tucker eviscerated Madonna’s behavior in an essay the following month, calling the appearance a moment “that will live in infamy for, oh, at least another 15 minutes.” He somewhat missed the mark there. The interview remains one of the most famous in late-night history, and no retrospective of Madonna’s career is complete without it. What he was right about was that Madonna strangely had no new material to hock while ticking off one expletive after the next. The interview revolved mostly around vague references to her recent sexual antics. (By March 1994, “Justify My Love” had been banned on MTV, she’d released “Sex” and her album “Erotica” spawned the controversial Girlie Show Tour, in which she dressed as a dominatrix surrounded by topless dancers.)

“The ‘Letterman’ appearance was another such stunt, a way to keep her name in the papers in lieu of actually producing some sort of creative work,” Tucker wrote.

What Tucker couldn’t have known was what Madonna revealed in a 1996 SPIN magazine interview with Bob Guccione Jr. The singer said the “Late Show” producers even encouraged her F-bomb rampage, telling her it would be “really funny” to rattle off expletives amid constant bleeps. “Well, I came out and started doing it, and David freaked out,” she revealed. “The way he introduced me was derogatory, so my whole thing was, okay, if that’s how you want to play it, you cannot beat me at this game.”

Madonna also said in the SPIN interview that the gesture was an attempt to excoriate the state of television censorship, which allows increasingly graphic violence but won’t permit strong language. “It’s such hypocrisy. The fact that everyone counted how many f–ks I said — how small-minded is that?”

Tucker may be right that Madonna capitalized on a phony publicity moment to continue the loop of controversy she’d established several years prior. There isn’t much substance to the interview, and that’s where she went wrong. But what trumps such criticism is the fact that this interview would never happen in 2014, no matter how much more explicit broadcast television has become. Kanye West’s October 2013 “Jimmy Kimmel Live” interview — you know, the one where he called himself a “creative genius” — was one of the most talked-about late-night moments in recent years, but now it seems like an afterthought. Joaquin Phoenix’s bizarre 2009 Letterman appearance, in which he donned sunglasses and an unruly beard and spoke in meaningless non-answers, turned out to be quote-unquote performance art in connection with his movie “I’m Still Here.” It’s memorable and Phoenix was smart to pimp his project with such an approach, but the moment isn’t organic at all — it’s an entirely different sort of stunt: a scripted one.

Madonna’s 1994 moment was a bastion of talk-show greatness. It came just after the days of Carson’s pop-culture sovereignty, when late-night TV was still the stuff of water coolers. Even if Madonna discussed her F-bomb prattle with the “Late Show” producers, it was still her at her most unabashed. She didn’t waste time touting her own clout or pegging her antics to an eccentric passion project.

Today’s stars have to mask their controversial appearances with ulterior motives, as with West, who was responding to a tongue-in-cheek “Kimmel” parody of an interview he’d given. Madonna’s appearance was celebrity controversy at its purest. Jennifer Lawrence can charm us all she wants with her word vomit, but no one moment of her media salvo — save tripping on the Oscar stage — can claim the sort of infamy that this Madonna interview carries. It’s a relic from the age of talk-show dominance, and, silliness aside, a crowning moment for Madonna’s lingering media image, when her every move was ripe for examination. Twenty years later, it’s still a moment in popular culture that’s worth remembering.

To cap it off, here’s every F-bomb uttered during the appearance:

From the first part:

1:54 “Incidentally, you are a sick f–k.”

4:46 “F–k.”

8:52 “You are always f–king with me on the show.”

8:58 “You are always f–king with me on the show.”

9:02 “You are always f–king with me on the show.”

11:09 “Don’t f–k with me, Dave.”

11:22 “Somebody f–ked up.”

11:58 “Is it because I’ve been saying f–k too much?”

12:32 “Wait a minute. People don’t want to hear the word f–k?”

From the second part:

1:41 “F–k it, now we’re going to have to deal with each other.”

1:48 “Why can’t we just talk to each other? Why do we have to have all this contrived bulls–t? You know, f–k the tape. F–k the list, everything. You know what I’m saying?”

The pop icon’s March 31, 1994, Late Show visit turned into a ribald bleepfest that stunned viewers — and Dave himself

DAVID LETTERMAN has famously sparred with many celebrities on his late-night talk show (see sidebar), but his most buzzed-about guest spot remains his 1994 sit-down with Madonna. The 20-minute interview’s saucy tone was set up with Letterman’s introduction of the pop diva: ”In the past 10 years, she has sold over 80 million albums, starred in countless films,’‘ he said, with his trademark smirk, ”and slept with some of the biggest names in the entertainment industry.”

Madonna, black hair slicked back, emerged with guns blazing — asking Letterman, ”Why are you so obsessed with my sex life?” The segment then devolved into a profanity-laced, often uncomfortable back-and-forth that saw the singer drop the F-bomb 13 times, among other naughty words — all of which were bleeped for air. ”Why do we have to have all this contrived bulls — -?” she asked when Letterman attempted to go to a taped segment. The Material Girl also puffed on a cigar, refused to go to commercial break, and insisted that Letterman smell a pair of her panties.

The show instantly became the stuff of late-night legend, with everyone from Conan O’Brien to actor Charles Grodin to comedian Robin Williams weighing in (Williams described the encounter as ”a battle of wits with an unarmed woman”). The interview proved to be a ratings bonanza, with Late Show pulling in 9 million viewers. Madonna, though, defended her language as an attack on censorship. ”You can show a person getting blown up, and you can’t say ‘f — -‘?” she huffed to Spin in the fall of 1995. ”It’s such hypocrisy. The fact that everyone counted how many f — -s I said — how small-minded is that? The way he introduced me was derogatory, so my whole thing was, okay, if that’s how you want to play it, you cannot beat me at this game.’‘

Both Madonna and U2 have albums planned for late this year and we hear that Universal is considering releasing them as a “surprise,” just as Beyonce did in 2013. Our source from Universal says it’s a lot more likely to happen with U2 than it is with Madonna. However, Universal is looking for ways to market Madonna’s next album, under the working title of Rebel Heart, in different ways.

“So far, Universal is incredibly pleased with what has been presented by Madonna. This is not another MDNA with generic EDM songs. She is not straying away from her dance roots, but is giving the music a little “folk” twist,” our source says. However, Universal has some concerns. “It happened with Madonna and MDNA. It happened with Lady Gaga and ARTPOP. It happened with Britney Spears and her latest release. People are out to destroy the album before it even comes out. We liked the way Beyonce worked around that and hopefully, we’ll come up with something different for Madonna as well,” our source continues.

U2 haven’t released an album since No Line on the Horizon and the reception wasn’t too great. However, given the success of U2′s most recent tour, none of that mattered. But our source says they still want to market U2 in different ways as well. U2 doesn’t face the same automatic backlash that Madonna does, but there are still people who want them to fail.

“Laughing at all the haters out there who spend their energy trying to limit and label me with their prejudices and fears! Take your evil tongue and eye and turn them into birds that fly! Don’t waste precious time. Spend it ion things you love! #rebelheart #artforfreedom”

G Philly: Who’s been your favorite artist to remix?Tracy Young: Obviously Madonna. I owe a lot to her for supporting my career for so long, and playing such an important part of my life and career. I just remixed Cher’s “I Walk Alone.” Pink wrote that song. I also remixed Kylie Minogue “Into the Blue.” Madonna will always be my No. 1, but working with Cher and Kyle was a highlight.

G Philly: What do you think of Madonna’s new Game of Thrones look?Tracy Young: I wish people would leave her alone. She’s Madonna. I get upset when people beat up on people in general, especially when it’s somebody who’s done so much. I don’t care what she wears. She can wear what the hell she wants. Leave her alone. Let her entertain us. That’s all she wants to do.

Continuing to talk about the anniversary of “like a prayer”, we propose an interview with the magazine “Rolling Stone”.
In this interview she discusses Catholicism, her split from Sean Penn, her endorsement deal with Pepsi (her “Like a Prayer” video would end up scotching that), and a certain genius from Minneapolis.

“Do you see a black jaguar?” The voice, small and insistent, issues from the passenger seat, where the world’s most famous woman burrows deep into the upholstery. She slumps and scrunches, lying decidedly low. Her rump is poised perilously above the floor mat. Her boots are propped against the dashboard. Her tresses are piled beneath a leather cap, and tiny dark specs pinch at her nose. Occasionally her head bobs up, and she peers through the windshield to give navigational tips. Then, just as quickly, she ducks back into hiding. Madonna is on the lam. She is incognito. She is in my car. I am driving her home. It was her idea.

“The paparazzi won’t recognize your car.” she says, hatching her intrepid scheme after our first interview session. For her part, Madonna recognizes her most dogged pursuers. She knows what they drive. Every TV in her house is wired to the security system and transmits a continuous picture of the front gate and the street beyond. She sees those who park and lurk and obsess. She watches and remembers their movements. All of which might explain why she is cowering in my rented Chevy Corsica, fretting about a particular black Jaguar that is nowhere to be seen. “At this point,” she says, sighing wearily, “I know them all.”

Madonna has a new home – a sanctuary, really – nestled high in the Hollywood Hills. As it happens, an aerial photograph of the spread, snapped from a helicopter, was published in this morning’s paper. The accompanying text: “The soon-to-be-divorced Mrs. Sean Penn took title to the house Jan. 18. She paid $2,950,000.” She had not yet seen the item when I showed it to her a few hours earlier. “They say how much I paid for it?” she asked, sounding surprised and violated. ” ‘The house has seven bedrooms and six bathrooms’? They are so misinformed!” (Indeed, the next morning the same column reads, “A friend of Madonna’s called to say we were incorrect to report … seven bedrooms. ‘It has three bedrooms plus a maid’s room,’ said the caller.”)

The point being, she is best. Her woes dangle like shredded pulp from the jaws of gossip carnivores. Among supermarket-literature queens, she is the ultimate checkout girl. Her reign currently rages, due to the noisy unraveling of her three-and-a-half-year marriage to actor-pugilist Sean Penn. Divorce papers were filed by her attorneys on January 5th – thirteen months since the last time it happened (when she just as hastily rescinded the action). Like before, “irreconcilable differences” were cited. But this recent connubial rupture was reportedly prompted by a mysterious post-holiday altercation about which nothing is known for sure. Speculation abounds, however, and gallons of tabloid ink have been expended to document it. Why conserve now?

Several handwritten notes from Madonna are up for grabs at Gotta Have It.
Among them is the to-do list above that seems to detail an ectopic pregnancy, and the quit notice below in which she politely informs her old legal reps that their services are no longer required, before ending with a scratched out “you crooks”…

What if you showed up to your fitness class and suddenly realized that Madonna was your instructor? That’s exactly what happened in a Toronto Hard Candy Fitness Gym, where gym goers were in for a sweaty surprise. Lead by the “Material Girl” herself and several of her dancers, those who showed up knew it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If you ever needed inspiration to get your butt to the gym…this is it.

Boy George has recently released a new interview for the “Huffington Post”. He talked about Madonna …. yet. This time in positive “mood”….

When I told my deputy editor, who adores Madonna, that I was interviewing you he said, “Don’t ask him about Madonna — he hates Madonna!”I don’t hate Madonna! That’s such rubbish. I mean I’ve said awful things about Madonna and I’m not proud of that at all — I’m really not proud of that because I didn’t know her. And like everyone, I’ve always secretly kind of been into her. I have a lot of her records and I think that really is the measure of what you think of someone. If I have like 5 or 6 singles of Madonna that I love, that makes me a little bit of a fan. I have a massive painting of her in my spare room that I got in the ‘80s from some shop on Broadway.

People do love to pit celebrities against each other.There was a point where Madonna was just everywhere you looked and you couldn’t not comment! In the same way that it’s the same way not to have a comment about One Direction! They’re everywhere you look. And there was a point where Madonna was just everywhere, running around the park — she was just everywhere. And you can’t be that famous and not have people make comments, especially other people that are in your business. People are always asking me, “What do you think of this” and “What do you think of that,” but I don’t know her. I can’t see us ever being friends now but she’s going to be at this event that I’m going to tonight. I said to my friend, “If you can get a picture of me and Madonna, you’ll get a medal.” Can you imagine? I’d be really happy! It would be great to just have a photo with her and to fucking put this shit to bed. I don’t hate her at all!

The performer, who last directed 2011’s stylish period romance W.E., is attached to direct Ade: A Love Story, an adaptation of the debut novel by Rebecca Walker.

Bruce Cohen is producing the indie adaptation via his Bruce Cohen Productions. Jessica Leventhal, the company’s director of development, and Walker also are producing.

Walker, the daughter of The Color Purple author Alice Walker and civil rights lawyer Mel Leventhal, wrote about growing up interracial and with mixed religions in her memoir Black, White, and Jewish: Autobiography of a Shifting Self.

In her debut novel, published October 2013, Walker creates a narrator similar to herself (the mother is Christian while the father is Jewish). The story centers on a 19-year-old American student traveling with a feminist companion in Africa who falls in love with a young Muslim man on an island off the coast of Kenya. Their hastily made plans to marry, however, get blown away by cultural and political forces.

Although very much a love story, many of the themes and subjects in Ade are those Madonna has touched upon in envelope-pushing ways at the height of her music career. Sex, religion, race, lesbianism all figure into the story one way or another. Already a fan of the book, Madonna also provided a blurb that appeared in promotional materials.

CAA is arranging financing. Madonna and the producers on the hunt for a screenwriter to adapt the book.

Cohen was a producer on Silver Linings Playbook and is working on adapting the graphic novel The Fifth Beatle.

Madonna, repped by CAA, also directed the 2008 comedy Filth and Wisdom. The Weinstein Company released W.E., which, despite curiosity, only grossed $583,000 at the domestic box office.

Madonna is repped by CAA and Untitled Entertainment. Walker is repped by UTA, Anderson Literary Management, and Shep Rosenman at Katz Golden Rosenman.